Good Riddance to Obama’s Nuke Deal

One year ago this month, President Donald Trump withdrew from the
disastrous Obama-era Iran nuclear deal—an agreement that gave Iran too
much for too little in return.
TOP LINE:

House Republicans are clear-eyed about the rogue regime in Tehran. Far from ‘moderating’ its
behavior, the regime, emboldened with billions of dollars in sanctions relief, has:
● Continued to fund, train, and equip terror groups that threaten America’s national
security interests as well as those of our allies, including Israel.
● Continued to plot terror itself, including attempts on the soil of vital U.S. allies.
● Launched at least 49 ballistic missiles since mid-2015, according to the Foundation for
Defense of Democracies.

The deal legitimized Iran’s pathways to nuclear weapons. It allowed the regime to maintain its
illicit nuclear infrastructure and develop nuclear-capable missiles, all while setting limited
restrictions that expire in a few short years. In exchange, America gave Iran lasting, multi-billion
dollar sanctions relief. Nevermind the deal’s lack of actual verification mechanisms—the standard
for compliance is so low that Iranian officials have even bragged about it.

Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in January: “I thank God that the JCPOA technical
discussions left so many holes about the ways we can act that the other parties cannot claim
there is a violation of the deal.” Democrats, meanwhile, are campaigning on reviving the
disastrous agreement, as if Iran has not benefited enough already.

Since leaving the deal, the Trump administration has steadily ramped up pressure against the
regime in Tehran. These efforts include:
● Fully reimposing pre-nuclear deal sanctions and more, which resulted in large-scale
withdrawal of foreign investment.
● Taking the long overdue and necessary step of designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization.
● Suspending most Iranian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging service.
● Vowing to drive Iranian oil exports to zero and, in pursuit of that goal, refusing to renew
waivers for the import of Iranian oil.
○ Iran has lost billions in oil revenue due to U.S. sanctions.
● Revoking some waivers that permit “civil nuclear cooperation” under the nuclear deal,
including a key waiver that tacitly endorsed Iranian uranium enrichment.
However, more remains to be done. A key goal on the horizon: the expiration of 90-day waivers
that allow for ‘civil nuclear’ work at Iran’s Fordow bunker and Arak reactor.
● Fordow is central to Iran’s nuclear aspirations. According to the “nuclear weapons
archive” uncovered by Israel in 2018, Iran designed the secret site in order to produce
weapons-grade uranium. Tehran has denied this, and has more broadly not fully disclosed
the country’s past nuclear activities.
● Fordow is sure to serve the Iranians in any future nuclear efforts. U.S.-granted waivers
are keeping the facility active.
● The Arak heavy water reactor could provide Iran a pathway to produce plutonium. The
Trump Administration has called on Iran to permanently close this reactor.
● Allowing ‘civil nuclear’ work at Fordow and Arak not only extends the life of the nuclear
deal—it legitimizes the facilities themselves.

The Trump Administration must continue to increase pressure against Iran, completely deprive
Tehran of its terror funding, and ensure that the disastrous nuclear deal is fully dismantled.

House Republicans stand firmly with the White House in this mission.